BERLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Playtika’s Berlin-based studio Wooga has committed $100,000 to protect the Snow Leopards as part of its participation in the 2023 Green Game Jam by donating to the Snow Leopard Trust. For the third consecutive year of participation, Wooga ran an in-app activation in its casual mobile game June’s Journey, the #1 highest grossing hidden object game worldwide*.
June's Journey invited players in-game to join Wildlife Week to support the Himalayas. From May 31 until June 6, 2023, players had the chance to collect new animal decorations in time-limited events. The initially set community milestone of 500,000 decorations was clearly overshot, and June’s Journey players collected nearly 1,000,000 animal decorations during this eventful week . To celebrate this achievement, Wooga decided to donate to the Snow Leopard Trust. Players were also given the opportunity to donate in-game to the Snow Leopards Trust, in collaboration with Dots.eco, which generated nearly 17,000 USD from player donations.
Nai Chang, Managing Director at Wooga said:
“After taking important first steps towards becoming a more environmentally friendly company in 2020, we are now thinking about the topic of sustainability very holistically and our continuous participation in the Green Game Jam plays an integral role in this.
“In the past two years our in-game activations contributed to 225,000 trees being planted. This year we donated $100,000. Seeing our community being as engaged and enthusiastic about our environmental efforts is a great confirmation that not only the industry cares but also our players do. ”
Sam Barratt, Chief, Youth, Education & Advocacy, UN Environment said:
“While there is a long way to go, we’ve been really impressed with the creativity and commitment shown by the games industry to act on the environmental agenda to date. The reach and connection to billions of audiences is peerless and working with studios like Wooga in Playing for the Planet has started to reveal what is possible in this sector.”
This donation follows the successful participation of Wooga in the Green Game Jam the past two years, where the studio collectively planted 225,000 trees together with June’s Journey players, and was crowned the winner of the Players Choice Award in both 2021 and 2022.
June’s Journey is available to download for free on the App Store and Google Play. In-app purchases are available.
The Green Game Jam (GGJ) is an annual initiative by the Playing for the Planet Alliance, facilitated by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), where gaming studios are challenged to implement ‟green activations” into their existing games. Each year, these green activations have a common environmental theme and aim to engage players around the world and inspire them to take action for the environment. This year, all 40 participating games together are reaching about 60 million players, aiming to raise awareness for the protection of three wild ecosystems: harlequin toads in the Amazon, snow leopards in the Himalayas, and manta rays in the Western Indian Ocean.
About Playtika®
Playtika is a mobile gaming entertainment and technology market leader with a portfolio of multiple game titles. Founded in 2010, Playtika was among the first to offer free-to-play social games on social networks and, shortly after, on mobile platforms. Headquartered in Herzliya, Israel, and guided by a mission to entertain the world through infinite ways to play, Playtika has employees across offices worldwide.
About Wooga®
Wooga GmbH, the Berlin-based mobile games developer established in 2009, has created successful and unique mobile app games including June's Journey, Pearl's Peril® and Switchcraft®. In 2018, Wooga was acquired by social games company Playtika.
About June's Journey®
June's Journey invites players to relax with a story of romance, intrigue, and mystery in a glamorous hidden object game straight from the roaring 20s. Players have the opportunity to step into the role of amateur detective June Parker and set out on a journey and escape to a bygone age as they search for hidden object clues, from the parlors of New York to the sidewalks of Paris.
About Green Game Jam
The Green Game Jam is an annual initiative by the Playing for the Planet Alliance where gaming studios are challenged to implement ‘green activations’ into their existing games. Each year, these green activations have a common environmental theme and aim to engage players around the world and inspire them to take action for the environment.
The goal of the Green Game Jam is to accelerate the number of gaming studios that take action for the environment by making use of their reach. Playing for the Planet envisions a gaming industry where games are not only seen as a form of entertainment, but also as an educational and inspirational tool to activate people on environmental topics.
About Playing for the Planet
The Playing for the Planet Alliance was launched in 2019 and is facilitated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In joining the Alliance, members have made commitments ranging from integrating green activations in games (Green Game Jam), reducing their emissions and supporting the global environmental agenda through initiatives ranging from planting millions of trees to reducing plastic in their products. The Alliance has roughly 45 members, many taking part in this year’s Green Game Jam. More here: https://playing4theplanet.org/
*Since March 2019 until today, June's Journey is #1 by Consumer Spend within the Hidden Object (Puzzle) Sub-genre across Worldwide iOS & Google Play, according to Data.ai.
